Author: gavril

We’ve seen skyscrapers around before. Make way for “sea-bed scrapers” now. This underwater building designed by Sarly Adre Bin Sarkum is an underwater skyscraper. Known as the Water Scraper, this architectural marvel is a self contained city that uses a whole load of green and environment friendly technologies. Power generation is done using wave, wind and solar power. The city also produces its own food using farming, aquaculture and hydroponic techniques. A small forest on the face of the structure turns it a shade greener. Places for inhabitation and work are at the lower levels.

So what keeps the Water Scraper upright? It uses a system of ballasts that are aided by squid-like tentacles which also help generate kinetic energy. The architect hopes that in future, people will take to living in structures like these incase of a scarcity in land resources.

[Inhabitat]

Plans to have a solar powered passenger terminal at the Page Field General Aviation Airport in Southwest Florida have received a nod of approval from the Lee County commissioners. The 22,613-square-foot passenger terminal powered entirely by solar energy is a part of a project with an estimated budget of around $16.1 million. This is the second airport going green after the Le Castellet International Airport in the South of France. The French have perhaps set a green environment friendly example to airport authorities all over the world, who are gradually taking up the steps required. The Le Castellet International Airport recently inaugurated the Solarquest power plant set up on the roof of the H5 hanger.

These tweaks and changes in the way airports power themselves up will help save a whole load of energy making the aviation industry greener and cleaner.

[News-press]

Toyota has jumped aboard the Clean Energy Partnership bandwagon and will help promote low emission and zero emission vehicles in Europe. Five FCHV advanced fuel cell vehicles based on the Highlander will be provided by Toyota for the CEP test fleet in Berlin and Hamburg in Germany. The company will also tie up with CEP member Total and will develop hydrogen fueling stations in Germany. To start off with, the company will first build a CO2-free facility at the Berlin-Brandenburg Airport.

Hydrogen fueling stations in Berlin, Hamburg and on routes connecting the two cities are being planned. The company aims at introducing the automotive market to series production fuel cell vehicles by 2015. CEP is currently working on increasing supply of hydrogen from renewable sources by 50 percent over the coming years. Here’s a thumbs up to Toyota’s and CEP’s efforts in turning our city streets eco-friendly by the day.

[Autoblog]

The NVL Quant is sure burning in its magnificent glory at the Geneva Motor Show. Developed by NVL Solar and Koenigsegg, this car will be production ready by next year, which means this awesome super car will burn the asphalt soon! This environment friendly car sets an example to super car makers around the globe using two battery systems, four electric motors dedicated to each wheel, a carbon fiber chassis and a futuristic thin-film coated photovoltaic body. The body of the car helps convert solar energy into electricity which is then used to power up this vehicle with a power conversion efficiency of 38% with a maximum of 50%.

The cars motors produce a combined 600 kW (805 hp / 816 PS) and 1500 Nm (1107 lb-ft) of torque allowing the Quant to cross the 62mph mark in just 2.8 seconds. This 1680 kg (3704 lb) electric monster has a top speed of 377km/h.

This fours eater let’s you take your family on a quick spin and features other technological candy like alcantara upholstery, LED lighting, carbon fiber trim, and 23 inch wheels!

[Worldcarfans]

We’ve heard of portable wind energy generators and hydroelectric power generators earlier. Now the Japanese are here with a portable solar power generator to help make your life easier and powered up on the go! The SolarFold and SolarFan are two devices that unfold into surface area utilizing solar power collectors. They’ll suck in enough juice from the sun to power up your iPhone for a 3 minute call after exposing it to the sun for 10 minutes. The SolarFold wraps up in a flat stack and unwraps like a folding screen to maximize energy accumulating surface area. The SolarFan on the other hand can open up like a Japanese fan when you need to generate energy and also includes a tripod that helps you to adjust its angle according to the time of the day and location.

Designed and manufactured by AmbienTec, these two devices can power up anything that can connect to a USB post and cost around $250 each.

[Popsci]

Saving energy and finding ways to do so is what’s playing on the minds of people all over the world today. That’s pretty obvious taken the fact that energy resources have been exploited before, and if we don’t save up now, we’ll run dry in the future. Another product of this realization is the PowerHouse Dynamic’s eMonitor. How helpful is this device? Well it hooks on to your circuit board and tells you how much energy each individual circuit is using. This power management software helps users attain real time stats and also customized energy saving recommendations and a handy read-out of your “carbon footprint” and ways to offset it.

You can also configure alerts for overloaded circuits that rip you of energy and appliances left on and unused. Individual outlets and thermostats can be controlled manually.

You can buy yourself one of these energy saving packages by PowerHouse Dynamic for just $800.

[Engadget]

If you’ve always dreamt of looking like a little fairy, here’s an environment friendly energy generating way to do so. The Dandelion Wearable Windmill is more than just a set of fans that you can wear. Designed by Mary Huang and Jennifer Kay, this portable windmill is made out of 99% reclaimed materials. Its tiny circuitry converts wind energy harnessed by the blades into light energy which is emitted by tiny white LED lights in the prototype. The energy harnessed can also be used to power up a small device like your cell-phone or an mp3 player.

Dandelion from Mary Huang on Vimeo.

Wearable energy generating devices aren’t really the ‘in’ thing today. You don’t really see people walking around with solar panels or a wind turbine strapped on their backs, but taken the urgent need to save energy and find alternative ways to powering up our lives, these devices might find their rightful place soon.

[Ecouterre]

The world’s largest ship builder, Hyundai Heavy Industries is here with what will be the world’s first environment-friendly marine engine. This 16,680-horsepower engine reduced nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 15 percent on a trial run. Built in collaboration with German-based MAN Diesel, the engine was delivered to China’s Yangfan Shipyard for a 92,000-ton bulk carrier on Wednesday. It meets the latest Tier II regulations set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The IMO set more stringent regulations in 2008 that ruled for lower NOx emissions for marine engines reducing it from 17 grams per 1 kilowatt-hour to 14.4 grams. Ships built from January 2011 onwards will abide by these regulations and use engines that meet these standards. Hyundai developed components such as turbochargers, fuel valves and air coolers that renew the design of its engine and help meet these regulations.

Hyundai’s production reached 94 million horsepower in 2-stroke engines and 20 million horsepower in 4-stroke engines as of last year. These guys are sure working hard to go keep the waters clean.

[Marinebusiness-world]

Volkswagen’s efforts to save energy have paid off. The company launched an energy saving program back in 2005 and hooked itself up on reorganizing office equipment and infrastructure that was finally completed last year. Volkswagen proudly announced that these efforts have helped save up on 9.26 million kilowatt hours of energy per year. This is around 86% reduction in the company’s consumption as compared to the figures back in 2005. The total energy saved will be enough to power up 1,400 households annually.

It took the replacement of 52,000 fax machines, printers, photocopiers and scanners with 17,500 multifunction devices, the integration of the units into a centralized network and cutting the total number of devices by 66 percent i.e. disposing of 35,000 single machines. Devices used today are also standardized. The company sure deserves a pat on its back for these all its efforts.

[Autoevolution]

We all face the frustrating situation of having our cell-phone batteries run dry while out of home and away from a charging socket. Now you don’t need to worry yourself about things like that anymore. That’s if all goes well for Nokia, the Finnish cellular giant who have recently filed a US patent last week for a self charging handset that powers itself up using energy generated by the owner’s motion. Nokia is dreaming about a phone in the future that will have its heavier components like the radio transmitter circuit and battery on a sturdy frame which will move along two sets of rails that allow it to move upwards, downwards and sideways. The end of each rail will have strips of strips of piezoelectric crystals that will generate a current when compressed by the frame. So all you need to do is slip the phone in your pocket and it’ll charge itself up as you walk about.

[Newscientist]

Bored of drinking coffee? Well, you can give your cup of coffee to this car and it’ll drink it up! It may sound extraordinary, but this car does run on coffee. It costs around 25 to 50 times more to get this car up and running compared to a petrol powered car. So, it isn’t really an alternative. Christened as the “Car-puccino”, this £400 modified 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco will be driven 210 miles between Manchester and London powered by roasted coffee granules. Built by a team known as Bang Goes The Theory, the car will be unveiled at the Big Bang science fair in Manchester. The Carpuccino will go three miles per kilo of ground coffee, which totals up to about 56 espressos per mile. 70 kilos of ground coffee costing between £910 and £1,820 will be used for this journey.

Every 30 to 45 miles, the team will fill it up with more granules. Owing to the stops and despite its 60mph speed, the car will take 10 hours to complete this journey at the cost of 11,760 espressos.

[Dailymail]

Yet another electric motorcycle pops its green environment minded head up. This time, it’s a Norwegian prototype model based on the Honda chassis. With a sliced of tail and a stripped out motor, this bike has stacks of Nickel-Metal batteries rumbling in its stomach instead. The custom bodywork on the bike just adds to its appeal. That’s not all. Technology pushes the bike further to the futuristic edge with a cool touchscreen dash powered by Ubuntu. It displays bike stats like the speed, temperature, etc. and also GPS navigation. This bike was fashioned and built by Green School Motorcycles and Akershus University College.

Maybe electric bikes don’t burst your ear drums with that beloved rumbling we all love to hear, but then again, they’re clean, green and just as powerful!

[Engadget]

Uniforms made out of recycled materials seem to be the ‘in’ thing for environment minded sports persons nowadays. Nike’s team official team uniforms for the upcoming 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa are made out of recycled polyester. Each of these is made out of at least eight plastic bottles. These were obtained from landfill sites in Japan and Taiwan. They were then melted down to produce yarn to make the jerseys. According to Nike estimates, this will help reduce energy consumption by around 30 percent. The kits are designed to keep players dry, cool and comfortable while playing and use ventilation zones on each side of the jersey. These ventilation zones are created by laser cutting 200 tiny holes into the fabric of the jersey.

Teams like Brazil, the Netherlands, Portugal, USA, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Serbia and Slovenia will use these awesome environment friendly jerseys by Nike.

[Designboom]

A solar power plant built on the roof of a hanger is in fact a great way to reap energy from the sun, taken that it is exposed to the sun and has a large surface area. That’s exactly what happened at the Le Castellet International Airport in the South of France where the Solarquest power plant on the roof of the H5 hanger was inaugurated. Airport president Claude F. Sage states that this is yet another step taken towards a greener environment, after the environment friendly hotel recently built near the airport. According to director of the airport, Gérard Neveu, the airport needs to make itself fit enough to welcome the bust business planes with environmentally minded private jet travelers.

These eco-friendly environment kissing steps taken by the Le Castellet International Airport have been applauded for all its worth.

[Elitetraveler]

Handicrafts and handmade clothes will always speak of exotic quality, but handmade EVs seem out of the box. Made by a Japanese company known as Takeoka Jidosha Kogei, these handmade electric cars are chiseled into being from scratch by human hands. The two-seater Eco Beagle by the company is made in a garage workshop. However, being manufactured by hand doesn’t really make these electric cars anymore expensive. The car does have its limitations though. With a top speed of 37 mph, the car can go 45 miles on a single charge. The company also manufactures five more models, none measuring more than 10 feet and weighing between 660 and 1,600 pounds. The company took up the task in 1990 and builds just 100 cars a year.

With no further plans for expansion, the company seems contended with what they do as of now. You can buy the Beagle for just $9,600, that’s if you’re lucky.

[FastCompany]

Now here’s a urinal by Neo-Metro that’s eco-friendly. Besides being made out of 90% recycled metal, this sweet green concept made to answer nature’s call simply doesn’t use water! Its hot pink and powder coated finish sure makes a style statement and will make your toilet a colorful place to be in. The urinal meets the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) design criteria. It may sound weird at first, but this urinal helps save a whole lot of water by going dry instead of having it continuously flow down the drain. In case the color doesn’t appeal to you too much, you can also chose from sober shades like black matte and white gloss powder-coated finish.

Make a style statement and have your toilet go environment friendly at the same time with this hot new innovation.

Via – [Gizmodiva]

April 1, 2010 will have Toshiba Corp selling its residential solar cell systems that will use SunPower Corp’s monocrystalline silicon solar battery module. This isn’t an April Fools joke by the company, if that’s what you’re thinking. The company has decided to enter the residential solar cell system market to promote their electric appliance and smart grid businesses. In future, the company has also planned to sell their solar cell systems with “SCiB” lithium-ion batteries and smart meters. The solar cell system has all its devices purchased from other companies along with SunPower’s solar battery module, “SPR-210N-WHT-J,” that boasts a cell conversion efficiency of 21.5%. Added advantages include back-contact structure and the absence of an electrode on the surface.

Using SunPower’s solar battery module will sure pump up the heat between SunPower and Sanyo, the companies that have been competing for the highest conversion efficiency.

[Nikkeibp]

Now here’s a smart recycling robot that uses its laser eyes to sort plastic. Designed by IDEC, the Photonics Advanced Research Center, and Mitsubishi Electric Engineering, this robot was recently unveiled by Osaka University. Using its laser ‘eyes’ and sensors, this robot can distinguish between six types of plastic, making the recycling job a whole lot easier. Plastics are recyclable, though only 6% ends up for actual recycling. Distinguishing between recyclable and unrecyclable plastics by the naked eye is like picking a pin in a haystack. This 5ft 6in by 6ft 9in laser-equipped robot comes to the rescue and works efficiently.

However, this robot is huge and won’t fit into your kitchen. Which is why, Osaka University is working on a smaller version. If your home is big enough, this environment-conscious robot will cost you $55,000.

[Inhabitat]

This is one sofa that won’t sink in water, allowing you to relax and even travel on it. Known as the ‘sofa boat’, this electric boat was the twinkle in the eyes of spectators at the Abu Dhabi Yacht Show. These were used to ferry visitors around to get a glimpse of superyachts, pontoons and marinas. Powered using electricity, the boat is basically a 3.5 meter platform with a folding sun canopy covering the sofa-like seating area. The boat is steered using a joystick and has a soft foam bumper allowing transport in crowded marinas. These low noise boats have zero carbon emissions and can be charged via an electric socket. Its batteries power it up for 12 hours. The boat was designed by Abra Marine and the company currently has a solar powered one under development. The solar counterpart of this boat will be powered by seven square meter solar panels that will generate 1,000W allowing it to run for 10 hours. The B2B version of this boat has laptop docking points and a fridge for refreshments on the go!

For AED 59,000 ($16,000) and a bit more for customization, you can get one of these cool electric sofa boats.

[MarineBusiness]

In collaboration with Sunpods Inc. from California, Bauer Intelligent Transportation has developed a solar powered assist system specially designed for buses. This will help the company meet the strict rules laid down by the State Of California to curb pollution. This system developed in just 6 weeks uses four thin film solar panels that run the length of the bus and charges an on-board deep cycle battery bank. On shutting the engine, the bus can still have its air-conditioner and wireless connectivity equipment up and running. This prevents fuel consumption of an idling engine. A low was passed in 2008 prohibiting diesel vehicles from idling for more than 5 minutes, which has now been applied across 25 states in the U.S.

Bauer IT uses clean Series 60 engines, exhaust gas recirculation systems and diesel particulate filters for its fleet of bio-diesel, propane and EGR vehicles to meet the EPA emission requirements.

This new solar powered back-ups for buses will sure help reduce idling time further.

[Energymatters]